\nMonday was Lars’s last day here, as he was leaving Tuesday morning. Although he was still somewhat weakened by the bronchitis that had scuppered our 400 km ride in Mallorca on Saturday, by now he was well enough to make it to Aigues and Busot, my standard short ride in the mountains (about 47 km). But he was still slower than normal on the climbs, which gave me the opportunity to cycle ahead and get some pictures of him labouring uphill:
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![\"R001665\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_1.jpg\")
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\nDuring the next couple of days I hardly took any pictures. During one of my morning walks with Cheeta, I met two cats. First, this orange specimen in the entrance to a caf\u00c3\u00a9:
\n![\"DSF2019\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_2.jpg\")
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\nAnd then this one, looking down on me and Cheeta, warily:
\n![\"DSF2021\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_3.jpg\")
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\nOn Friday evening, I went to the centre to watch one of the Good Friday processions. The Easter Week (Semana Santa) is a big deal here, and there were processions every day since Palm Sunday. Of course, the ones on Good Friday and Easter Sunday are the most important ones. The one I chose to see was called Nuestra Se\u00c3\u00b1ora de la Soledad (“our lady of loneliness”). Its home is one of Alicante’s two principal places of worship, the Bas\u00c3\u00adlica de Santa Maria. I arrived there about 20 minutes before the start of the procession, so the square in front of the church was already completely packed:
\n![\"DSF2029\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_4.jpg\")
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\nFinally, the doors open and the leader of the procession emerges:
\n![\"DSF2032\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_5.jpg\")
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\nShortly thereafter, this huge instrument is rolled out. Playing it requires good lungs, and even then, the melodies that can be played are very basic. But this is the tradition:
\n![\"DSF2038\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_6.jpg\")
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\nFinally, the wooden statue of the Virgin appears. This is the moment everyone has been waiting for:
\n![\"DSF2051\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_7.jpg\")
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\nA closer view:
\n![\"DSF2059\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_8.jpg\")
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\nI then quickly walked a couple of hundred metres to the Plaza de Sant\u00c3\u00adsima Faz which the procession would pass in a few minutes. That little square was crowded too. These processions take place in the old part of the city, so by definition in close quarters. Good for photographers:
\n![\"DSF2064\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_9.jpg\")
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\nMy US friends always are struck by the similarity to the KKK headgear. But the shape precedes the KKK, they just appropriated it. The covering of the faces is supposed to symbolise the idea that all are equal before God:
\n![\"DSF2067\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_10.jpg\")
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\nThe procession continued down the street (it lasts about 3 1\/2 hours):
\n![\"DSF2078\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_11.jpg\")
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\nAnother Easter tradition, this time with no religious content, is the medieval market on Avenida Vicente Ramos, the main thoroughfare of the neighbourhood in which I live:
\n![\"DSF2084\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_12.jpg\")
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\nMost of the stalls sell food of some kind, like this guy selling bread baked in a charcoal oven:
\n![\"DSF2081\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_13.jpg\")
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\nDeep-fried pumpkin fritters:
\n![\"DSF2082\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_14.jpg\")
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![\"DSF2086\"](\"uploads\/2017\/15_15.jpg\")
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